The duo behind the Oscar-winning THE HURT LOCKER is back on limited screens this month with ZERO DARK THIRTY, which tracks the decade-long hunt to kill or capture Osama Bin Laden. Director Kathryn Bigelow (POINT BREAK, NEAR DARK) and screenwriter Mark Boal have recreated one of the greatest manhunts in history, while showing the good, the bad, and the ugly of the process, from interrogations, deep cover operations, and the ultimate mission that would rid the world of an evil mass murderer.

The clip below shows the moments just after the green light is given to take Bin Laden out and is filled with the anxiety and tension that goes hand-in-hand with the start of any mission...only this time with the biggest target in modern history. It's a good peek at the style and pace of the film, with the underlying score by Alexandre Desplat delivering the pulse-raising tension as the stealth choppers take off. The second clip below is from THR's writer's roundtable where Mark Boal discusses (or dodges) how much of Bin Laden is actually in the film.

Geronimo is go:

Boal discusses the film:

I'm really looking forward to this. Although disappointed by THE HURT LOCKER's inconsistencies, I love Bigelow's work and my fear is that many people will skip this film, largely to the general "tired of war" sentiment. It's not uncommon for current events to dissuade audiences from catching a particular film, but hopefully that can be sidestepped in order to catch what looks to be a compelling portrayal of a significant historical event.

Thus far, the film has generated strong reviews and recently won the New York Film Critics Circle 2012 best cinematographer award, Greig Fraser. Off to a good start, but box office will ultimately be telling.